Petitioning for Greatness

Ever signed a petition? What is a petition anyway?
A petition is a request to change something.
One thing i realised is that God loves petitions.
The more the better. He even has a nickname for these petitions.



They're called prayers. And the difference is, He listens.
I had the opportunity to participate in the Global Day of Prayer on the 31st of May 2009. The Global Day of Prayer has seen millions of Christians unite in a day of repentance and united prayer. Started on July 2000 by Graham Power who had a vision to see Capetown come together and pray to the Lord in unison. Today hundreds of millions of people from 220 countries pray this prayer in unison. 10 days of constant prayer lead up to the Global Day of Prayer on Pentecost Sunday. On this day, Christians in almost every country assemble and pray. Some gather in small groups. Others gather in large stadiums of public venues.

I had the opportunity to participate in The Zion Praise Harvest Church's assembly of Christians. There were other churches and Christian groups that participated in this assembly as well. I must say i was pretty excited, imagine participating in something so big, on a global scale. I think God was excited as well. The focus of the prayers was to pray for our world, in one voice.

"If My people, who are called by My name,
will humble themselves and pray
and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways,
then will I hear from heaven and
will forgive their sin and will heal the world."
2 Chronicles 7:14

And so we prayed for the world. We prayed for our brothers and sisters
across the world. We prayed for the oppressed, the poor, the sick.
We prayed for the rich, healthy and well off.
Everyone was prayed for.

2 prayers that broke my heart yet gave me hope:

Father of mercy and grace,
We acknowledge that we have sinned
and that our world is gripped by the power of sin.
Our hearts are grieved by injustice, hatred and violence.
We are shamed by oppression, racism and bloodshed in our land.
We mourn the loss of life in murder, war and terrorism.
Our homes are broken and our churches are divided
by rebellion and pride.
Our lives are polluted by selfishness, greed, idolatry and sexual sin.
We have grieved Your heart and brought shame to Your name.
Have mercy on us as we repent with all our hearts.

God of mercy,forgive our sins.
Pour out Your Grace and heal our land.


Spirit of the living God,
Apart from you we can do nothing.
Transform Your church into the image of Jesus Christ.
Release Your power to bring healing to the sick,
freedom to the oppressed and comfort to those who mourn.
Pour Your love into our hearts and fill us with compassion
to answer the call of the homeless and the hungry
and to enfold orphans,widows and the elderly in Your care.
Give us the wisdom and insight for the complex problems we face today.
Help us to use the resources of the earth for the well being of all.

Holy Spirit, we need Your comfort and guidance.
Transform our hearts.

And what will you be petitioning for today?